Entries from January 2008 ↓

Miss America, the pageant of all pageant’s. The, the, the . . . most obsolete thing in the world.

TLC got a hold of the Miss America pageant and aims to modernize it on a reality show called Miss America Reality Check. Which sounded like a potentially promising thing. For a minute.

There was this part of me – the wicked part – that loved every minute of the tongue lashing the 52 pageant contestants got from What Not to Wear stars Stacy and Clinton. Admit it we’ve all wanted to say “enough with the sequins and take the hair down about 1,000 notches, you look like a drag queen, and for goodness sake stop it with the spray tan!”

I watched again last night (after the kids went to bed) thinking maybe they were going to move onto to some actual modernizing or dare I dream, feministing, of the pageant.

No, we had an intellectual competition. Who is the most smartest beauty pageant contestant? Host Michael Urie, the mean boy from Ugly Betty, made the girls get into their swim suits and stilettos and they were forced to {gasp} jump in the pool to ruin their make-up and hair if they got it wrong.

So, then it became just another way for women/girls to be humiliated in as little clothing as possible. And was it really a challenge of intelligence? The last winner-takes-all question was about which country Borat comes from.

Borat? That’s how we gauge intelligence in this country now? From knowing about last year’s crude comedy? Fictional geography?

Why did we give carte blanc to all gay men to humiliate women on television? Why are they allowed to be as insulting and cruel as they like without any public backlash? Were a straight man or a woman to say most of what Michael Urie says on that show it would be socially unacceptable. What makes gay guys the ultimate in fashion experts anyway? They don’t have to wear the clothes or the heals or use the products – why should women care what they think looks best on us? Why don’t we expect even a minimum of respect from them? It’s like women have become the gay man’s real-life Barbie to make-over as he sees fit.

And who do we have making over Miss America? The fashion industry. Brilliant! Because they’ve been so wonderful and uplifting to girls and women in America thus far. The fashion industry knows exactly what the American people want to see in Miss America. Not.

Let’s see . . . Who has done more harm to women’s self esteem and self image -pageants or the fashion industry?

Really I would love to know – how is this better?

Share and Enjoy

There is a column worth reading on the New York Times Opinion Page about the film Juno. Juno, is the name of a teenager who gets pregnant and gives the baby up for adoption.

Columnist, Caitlin Flanagan, has a valid point about the message of the film and how it effects girls. (I, personally, haven’t yet seen the film.)

Share and Enjoy

by Traces Sioux

Every parent of a daughter should see Little Miss Sunshine.

It’s the story of a normal girl, Olive, from a dysfunctional family scrambling to get their hands on the American Dream.

Olive’s aunt entered her into a beauty pageant and she placed as a runner-up. The winner couldn’t make it to the California Little Miss Sunshine Pageant, so Olive gets in at the last minute.

Olive wants it, so the family drives their beat-up VW van across the country. When confronted with the complete insanity of what little girl beauty pageants have come to, both brother and father have serious misgivings about allowing Olive to compete.

This is a funny and entertaining flick. It’s also a poignant commentary about the sexualization of girls and the importance our culture places on beauty as success.

Little Miss Sunshine is disturbing, but then so is what we do to girls in our culture.

Support this blog by clicking on the Unboxed DVD in the right side bar to watch the film right now. Or click on the Little Miss Sunshine link to order the DVD.

Share and Enjoy

Get your shoes on Zack, come to Home Depot with me, he said.

We were going to watch Jon and Kate plus Ei8ht, I said.

He’d rather go to the hardware store.

Zack loves the babies. It’s his favorite show.

What do you want to do Zack? Pick the hardware store. Don’t be a girl!

There is nothing wrong with being a girl!

Sometimes I think he forgets who he’s married to.

Share and Enjoy

One of the things most important things I want to teach my daughter is how to make her life happen, as opposed to allowing life happen to her.

I want to give her power. Power to do or be anything she chooses. I don’t want her to be limited by the past. I don’t want her limited by history. I don’t want her limited economically or politically or socially.

I want her to know how to dream. Then to know how to achieve her dreams. Since it’s my job to teach her these skills, and dreaming is a learned skill, I’ve been exploring these issues myself.

Can I make my dreams come true?

During this quest I saw The Secret and I’ve been experimenting with The Law Of Attraction with success (remember my new house that seemed custom-made for me?).

And see you, you are reading this blog are you not? I’ve been praying that you would come read this blog.

A month ago I attracted a Law of Attraction Mentor, Jeff Howard, who sent me his Law of Attraction Action Pack. It’s a seven day program with tools to help you focus on what you want to attract and shows you how to attract it.

While going through the process I have included my daughter. Great tools for me equal great tools for her. We’ve made dream boards and listened to the meditation exercises together.

I think it must be working for her, because you would not believe her new room. As a child, I never could have dreamed up such a room. Her new room has two closets, one of them is so big it has a reading nook and a whole rack for her dress up clothes. She even has her own bathroom! A six-year-old has her own bathroom.

As we progress in our spiritual journey or our goal-achieving quests, it’s important that we include our children in the process. Whatever the process is for us.

Share and Enjoy